Systems Engineer - Level 3 or 4
Northrop Grumman · Aurora, CO
$114,000–$213,400from the description
Jul 7, 2026
Aurora, CO
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A systems engineering role supporting a space systems program in Aurora, CO, focused on technical planning, integration, verification and validation, and requirements analysis across the full product lifecycle — from concept through disposal. The work involves translating customer requirements into hardware and software specifications, conducting trade studies, and maintaining and developing operational procedures. Suits STEM-degreed engineers with a background in systems engineering, requirements management, and test strategy who hold an active TS/SCI clearance.
Senior level · 5+ years · Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO · Bachelor's required · TS/SCI clearance · Full-time
Posted 2 times — it's one opening, so apply once.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $130,692 (middle half $104,662–$167,678). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (7)
This requisition covers two levels: Level 3 (Systems Engineer III, ~5 years with a Bachelor's) and Level 4 (Systems Engineer IV, ~8 years with a Bachelor's). The salary range spans both levels: $114,000–$171,000 for Level 3 and $142,200–$213,400 for Level 4. Seniority is assessed at the lower (Level 3) gate.
An active TS/SCI clearance is required at time of application; willingness to sit for a polygraph is also required. An active TS/SCI with poly is listed under Preferred Qualifications as a differentiator.
JIRA and MBSE/MBE tools appear under Preferred Qualifications only.
The role is classified as Systems Engineering rather than software development; 15-1211 (Computer Systems Analysts) is the closest SOC match, though 15-1299 (Computer Occupations, All Other) is a reasonable alternative given the defense/space systems engineering focus.
'Systems engineering', 'requirements analysis', and 'test planning' are retained as skills here because the JD explicitly gates on them by name in the Basic Qualifications section, even though they are methodologies rather than named tools — they are the primary technical competencies the posting screens for.
Ignored 2 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): systems engineering, test planning.
Requires a TS/SCI clearance — the cleared population is a small fraction of this occupation, so the real candidate pool is materially smaller than the estimate below, which does not model clearance.
Read the full posting
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